Shamil Basayev (centre). An experienced warlord who personally led the hostage-taking raid in the Russian town of Budyonnovsk in 1995, and later claimed responsibility for orchestrating the Moscow theatre hostage-taking in October 2002 and the Beslan school hostage-taking in 2004. In the intervening years, he was a member of the Chechen administration led by President Aslan Maskhadov. He is pictured during the 1997 election campaign, in which he finished second to Maskhadov.